A Dating App Turns Hate Into Romance

Have you ever longed to meet someone who hates Justin Bieber as much as you do? Well, there’s an app for that. It’s called Hater, and it’s taken the dating world by storm.

Hater creates romance by matching people based on who or what they loathe. Public Relations Director Sam Terris said the app’s mission is to get the dealbreakers on the table, rather than go through five dates only to find out that “Joe is a conspiracy theorist.”

Terris explained to RewardExpert how romance can begin by focusing on the negatives.

Hater began as a joke

If you had asked founder Brendan Alper about a decade ago if Hater would be his major venture, he would have said you were crazy.

Hater started as joke, literally. He used to be an investment banker for Goldman Sachs — that is before he got bored and left to pursue a comedy career. He came up the concept of Hater as part of a comedy routine he was developing.

“The more [Alper] thought about it, the more it seemed like there was a genuine need for it,” Terris said. “Some scientific research helped corroborate his theory.”

Hater officially launched Feb. 8 in the Apple App Store and became instantly popular. In its first three weeks, the app accumulated more than 300,000 users and 70 million swipes, and it is available in 44 countries. Most users are single, live in major cities, and are between 18 and 30 years of age.

Is the road to love paved with hate?

Hater wants to hone in on people’s frustrations. More specifically, Terris noted that people are frustrated by other apps that give users no clue what people really like, let alone what they hate.

It’s easy to open up Hater and swipe left or right to share your opinions on everything from cilantro to President Trump to overpriced toilet paper. During the app’s launch, Alper pointed out that it’s easy for people to start a conversation just on the basis of hating pickles.

The app’s algorithm matches people who like, dislike and absolutely hate the same things. Once you find a possible match, you can break the ice with built-in games, such as the popular Cards Against Humanity, in order to skip the “Hey!” period and jump into meaningful discussion. You can stay anonymous, too.

Terris said the company is taking online dating more seriously by bringing in personality as a replacement for cumbersome surveys. And personality isn’t that easy to convey.

“Don’t suppress your personality,” he said. “Don’t pretend to like going to the gym if it’s something you hate. Embrace the things you hate. You may find that you have more in common with people than you think when you open yourself up.”

What’s ahead for Hater

While the app is still in its relative infancy, Terris tells users to stay tuned as the world of Hater adds more user-generated content, including other types of things to swipe on. It will also become more shareable and community-driven.

Hater has users around the world, so the app may serve as an unusual way to meet people while traveling.

So far, Hater is found only in the Apple App Store, but the company states that it will be available on Android devices this spring.